


Day One - Teamwork

by Fafsernir



Series: Torchwood Fest [2]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: Humor, M/M, Teamwork, torchwoodfest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-11
Updated: 2016-10-11
Packaged: 2018-08-21 22:58:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8263505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fafsernir/pseuds/Fafsernir
Summary: Written for Torchwood Fest, Day One: "Teamwork"





	

**Author's Note:**

> Again, thanks to ceywoozle! She truly did an amazing job on this one as a beta, it was really confusing when I first sent her!

Tosh and Gwen winced, Jack crossed his arms, grinning, and Ianto raised a surprised eyebrow. Owen's arms, up to the elbows, were red. It was a strange shade of red, very bright, almost shining, clearly unreal or at least not from Earth. Which, considering he had been cutting an alien open, wasn't that surprising. What was surprising was the victorious smile on Owen's face. He was usually angry when his white coat was stained, but this time he seemed happy. Work-related happy, because he had made a good discovery, as he was trying to explain.

They had welcomed five aliens recently, seeking shelter. They had been living on Earth for a while, away from society and any human contact, but they had one by one started falling ill, thus had been forced to ask for help. They knew about Torchwood and had decided they couldn't keep on living all by themselves. They didn't want to invade humanity or anything, but Torchwood had put them in quarantine anyway. In case they were contagious, first, but also because they weren't sure the aliens could be trusted. Torchwood still was trying to help them survive, thanks to the most recently deceased alien which allowed Owen to understand what was wrong. And he had just now found out that they had a very slow allergic response to the oxygen on Earth. He knew what was making them ill now. He just needed to find out how to make the antidote.

Tosh left the bay to run a search on her computer, checking for the information and components they would need, efficiently working until she had everything she wanted.

Gwen went down to the cells to free the aliens from quarantine and talk to them, after checking with Owen that they definitely weren't contagious. They first seemed angry – they might have left them down there without giving them information – but she managed to calm them, thanks to Tosh's translation program which allowed her to communicate in a very basic Standard Galactic. The aliens – Xueh – were quite happy to learn that they could be healed, as one of them was slowly starting to die.

One kept talking with Gwen, learning as much as she could about Earth and Cardiff while the youngest one – his Earth name was Dylan, because humans in the 21st century couldn't pronounce his alien name right – spent his time with Ianto. He really loved his coffee and kept asking for more, biting Ianto's hand every time he was done. Ianto hadn't reacted the first time, almost used to strange things happening in his life, and the sensation of being bitten actually felt good. Jack had explained, after speaking to Dylan's father, because he didn't really like the idea of someone biting Ianto, that it was a familiar way to thank someone on their planet. They released some chemical – some alien name that even Jack didn't know – that left the receiver as happy as the giver. The Xue had also informed Jack that Dylan was trying to flirt, which Jack had not, of course, said to Ianto. Not that he was afraid that Ianto would flirt back, but... well, maybe he was. But he sure wasn't jealous. But still, did the alien have to bite him _every single_ time? And why wasn't Ianto annoyed by this? Jack wanted to bite him in public too. Ugh, well, maybe not bite him, but Ianto usually didn't even want to kiss him in front of the team. Something about civility and respect. Well letting someone bite you was disrespectful. Jack frowned at his own thoughts and dismissed them, turning to the work at hand.

They effectively managed to prepare the antidote, both Owen and Jack working carefully with the components which Tosh had found and which Ianto had retrieved. Gwen filed away as much information as she could on their species and other aliens forms they knew, and it didn't take them a lot of time to help the Xueh to go back to their life.

At the end of the day, after the Xueh had left, the team slumped into different seats, except for Ianto, who made one last coffee. Owen didn't stay long, soon going home to rest. Tosh followed him not long after, exhausted because she had stayed up late the night before, and Gwen stayed a bit longer, handing Ianto every note she had taken and talking to Jack. Meanwhile, Ianto went to the archives where he read the notes, corrected mistakes and some inaccuracies, then photocopied them to file away. When he got back to the main room, Gwen had gone, and Jack, apparently, was waiting for him.

Jack kissed Ianto, hard and long, and almost begged him to go home. Ianto agreed when he saw that Jack had cleaned up the place while he was upstairs, smiling softly at Jack's impatience that had, for once, been useful.

Jack set everything for the night and joined Ianto on the elevator, throwing a last proud glance at the Hub. Ianto chuckled because Jack sometimes looked so cute, so proud of what he had built. He had reason to be, but it was still funny to witness Jack's reaction after a good day of work.

 


End file.
